IAM8BIT AND SKYBOUND GAMES, TOGETHER WITH COIN CREW GAMES, UNVEIL ESCAPE ACADEMY
An Interactive Mystery that Brings the Teamwork and Time-Pressure of Escape Rooms
to the Living Room
Coming to PC, Xbox and Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Consoles This June
LOS ANGELES – Mar. 16, 2022 – – iam8bit and Skybound Games have teamed up with the creative minds at Coin Crew Games to reveal Escape Academy, one of the first video games to capture the authentically mind-bending escape room experience. Escape Academy invites players to follow in the footsteps of extraordinary Escapists, puzzling their way through a variety of team-based, exploration and time-pressure challenges, created specifically to bring the mystery, intrigue and fun of brick-and-mortar escape rooms into players’ homes.
The Escape Academy announcement trailer can be viewed here.
Escape Academy is available to be added to wish lists for each platform at the following links for Steam and PlayStation with Xbox coming at a later date.
Coin Crew Games, co-founded by Wyatt Bushnell and Mike Mohammed Salyh, has deep roots in designing real-world experiences that blend immersive gameplay with a keen focus on group interaction. Bushnell has built attractions for amusement parks and arcades including the tech-infused Two Bit Circus, which features massive escape rooms, and Salyh has designed games for Disney, Zynga and Two Bit Circus. Once Wyatt and Mike met, they subsequently became business partners after they were contracted to create an IRL escape room experience together.
“Our goal has always been bringing people together to play, whether that’s in arcades or at home,” said Mike Mohammed Salyh, co-founder, Coin Crew Games. “As a studio, we’re rigorous about playtesting our designs early and often, a philosophy we pulled from our years developing games for the location based entertainment space.”
“We were stoked to take those development ideals to iam8bit and Skybound, who were pivotal in helping us navigate the digital side of game development,” said Wyatt Bushnell, co-founder, Coin Crew Games. “We’ve heard a lot of horror stories about publishing relationships, but this one felt more like a romantic comedy.”
Escape Academy is the first original title to be revealed under iam8bit Presents, as the company adds games publishing to its repertoire.
“iam8bit and Coin Crew share the same ideals in bringing truly special, one-of-kind experiences to players,” said Jon M. Gibson and Amanda White, co-owners, iam8bit. “Escape Academy really captures the thrill of teaming up with friends and the real adrenaline rush to beat the clock – and we’re saying this based on our own experience designing IRL escape rooms for Resident Evil and Alita: Battle Angel. There are so many layers to the narrative and nuanced elements that make the puzzles feel like compelling challenges.”
“Skybound Games is focused on giving a platform to creators making unique interactive experiences, and we knew right away that Coin Crew was creating something special,” said Ian Howe, co-CEO, Skybound Games. “Wyatt, Mike and the Coin Crew team have expertly crafted a group gaming experience that will both define and challenge the team dynamic, bringing out the best in friends and family to manage the pressure of unlocking each room.”
Set in a secret world, players find themselves swept up by the mysteries of Escape Academy, a training ground for individuals with roguish skills suited to the “art of escape.” These new recruits must puzzle their way through deadly challenges set forth by zany and charismatic professors to secure their place among the legendary “Escapists.” Filled with shocking twists and turns, players will navigate through high stakes escape rooms, ultimately uncovering a threat they could have never imagined.
Escape Academy will be available this June Day One on Xbox Game Pass and for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Additional information can be found on the webpage at escape.academy.
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About iam8bit
Founded in 2005, iam8bit is a creative production emporium that has quietly redefined the entertainment industry, time and time again. Collaborating with a plethora of partners and narrative-busting IPs, iam8bit punctuates the importance of engaging with fans directly. By creating the videogame industry’s very first community events, the company injected the idea of experiential immersion into game and film marketing (back when it was simply known as “theatre”). iam8bit also played a crucial role in the vinyl renaissance, minting its first record in 2010, and is the industry leader in premium physical editions of top-tier games. In 2020, iam8bit evolved into financing and publishing games, with several yet-to-be-announced PC, console and tabletop games on the horizon under its iam8bit Presents imprint. The company is based in Los Angeles and co-owned by Jon M. Gibson and Amanda White. Visit iam8bit.com or follow @iam8bit on Instagram or Twitter.
About Coin Crew Games
Coin Crew Games is an indie games studio founded in 2018 with one goal in mind: bringing people together to play. With innovative concepts and research-driven design, Coin Crew Games is developing multiplayer experiences and games to be played both in and out of home. Based in Los Angeles, Coin Crew Games is best known for the arcade machine “Hot Wheels: King of the Road” found at every Dave & Buster’s and now the upcoming puzzle-adventure game “Escape Academy”. To learn more, visit www.coincrew.games or follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
About Skybound Games
Skybound Games, a division of Skybound Entertainment, collaborates with creators to publish, produce, develop, and license exceptional video game IP across a variety of genres and platforms. The Skybound Games publishing slate includes Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Before Your Eyes, Rainbow Billy and The Big Con among others.
As a strategic partner of Striking Distance Studios, Skybound Games brings its global marketing and distribution capabilities to the highly-anticipated survival-horror game The Callisto Protocol.
The Skybound Games team also manages physical distribution of several award-winning indie games including Boneloaf’s Gang Beasts, and alongside partner iam8bit, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Untitled Goose Game and more. Skybound Games can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and at www.skybound.com.
